Royals draw first blood

READING, PA– The Reading Royals drew first blood in a wild Game One victory over the Florida Everblades 7-6, thanks to four goals in the first period and three goals in the third period after the team went down by tow goals heading into the final period. The Royals held three separate two goal leads in the early going, but trailed by two early in the third before mounting a late game come back to win in come-from-behind fashion.

The victory gives the Royals a 1-0 lead in the best-of-seven second round series. Matt Dalton picked up the win in his sixth playoff game over the past eight days. The Everblades’ Adrian Lemay came on in relief of Chris Beckford-Tseu who started the first 4:40 of the game but allowed two goals on two shots. The Royals first goal of the game was scored while the team was playing with the man advantage (1-3). The Everblades scored three power play goals, all by Mike Bayrack, four chances with the power play (3-4). The Royals completed the third period comeback when Alex Berry settled a loose puck in the slot, maintained his poise, and weaved in front of the Florida net. He fed Greg Scott for a point blank shot that hit the pipe but Jared Ross stepped up to corral the loose puck and ripped it home for his second of the game with just 5:23 remaining in regulation. Reading held off a late game push by the Everblades for the team’s fourth playoff win of the season. The Royals and Everblades play Game Two of their best-of-seven American Conference Semi-Final Series Thursday, April 15^th at the Sovereign Center in Reading, Pennsylvania. The next four games are scheduled to be played in Florida before coming back to Reading for game seven thanks to a scheduling quirk. Contact the author at Brian.Jennings@prohockeynews.com
Contact the photographer at Lewis.Bleiman@prohockeynews.com